GREY CUCKOO. 135 



minck describes it as follows: — At the period of leaving the nest, 

 the young have all the upper parts of a greyish-brown ; the fea- 

 thers and quills terminated by a white band ; red spots disposed 

 upon the wings, and those of an ovoidal form on the inner barbs 

 of the quills, equally red ; a large white spot on the occiput ; fore- 

 part of the neck and breast marked with very close blackish 

 bands ; belly, thighs and abdomen whitish, with black bands 

 as in the adults." It is only however when the feathers are 

 yet short that the upper parts are greyish-brown, with whitish 

 bands, for when they elongate, the red bars appear. Mr Selby's 

 figure of an individual a little more advanced is very inaccurate, 

 for the black bands on the tail are transverse, which is never 

 the case in any young Cuckoo, and the markings in general are 

 very rudely represented. 



M. Temminck's account of " the young at the time of 

 leaving the nest" is thus sufficiently correct; but his " Cuckoo 

 at the age of one year," is merely the young fully fledged ; and 

 his " young such as they are when they emigrate in autumn" 

 either imaginary, or birds in the first spring, and indeed he 

 elsewhere states that the young do not moult before their de- 

 parture. His statements as to the " Coucou roux, or Cuculus 

 hepaticus of the systems," are therefore partly incorrect. In 

 this state, as I have shewn, it is merely the fully-feathered 

 young bird, and not " the common grey Cuckoo in its second 

 year." He is aware that this rufous bird is never seen in spring 

 in the northern countries, and therefore he supposes that the 

 Cuckoo during its second year remains in the southern and 

 eastern parts of Europe, where he has often followed them for 

 hours in the beginning of spring. The fact appears to be 

 merely this. The young Cuckoo departs in its first plumage, 

 moults in the south in early spring, revisits its native country 

 in the beginning of summer, when it is grey glossed with green 

 on the upper parts, but has brownish bars on the sides of the 

 neck, and frequently a few of the feathers of the first plumage 

 remaining. In this state many authors have described it as 

 the adult female ; but the latter I have found of the same 

 colours as the male ; and these grey Cuckoos tinged with red 

 or brown, are both male and female. 



